


A Taste of What Could Be

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Holidays, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29417484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Jakku had no holidays.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 14
Kudos: 25
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6, Ijustfellintothissendhelp





	A Taste of What Could Be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lucymonster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucymonster/gifts).



Jakku had no holidays. Rey learned that this was strange when she stepped out into the wider galaxy. Everyone observed Life Day, it seemed, despite the celebration starting out as a Wookiee holiday. There were holy days for every religion, and speeches given on famous anniversary dates to commemorate events like the Battle of Yavin or the fall of the Republic.

She was in turns delighted and mystified as her new friends surprised her and each other with small gifts on days that seemed random. Her only solace was that Finn was equally surprised. Stormtroopers were taught that there were holidays, and other than the important dates such as the birth of the Empire, these were held in contempt. Finn didn't hold them in contempt. He loved waking up to tokens like small bunches of flowers, or handmade notecards expressing affection, or sweets.

Another hasty retreat from another would-be base, and Rey only noticed today's escape was special due to the strange glances between her colleagues. As soon as the Millennium Falcon was in hyperspace, she took the chance to go talk to Finn.

The smile he always wore when he saw her lit up his face. "Rey."

She dropped her voice. "What are they doing today?"

"Other than fleeing for their lives?" She nodded. "It's Viola Day. Something that like," he added.

She waited for him to explain. "And that is?"

He looked uncomfortable. "You show affection to your sweetheart," he said, the unfamiliar words hesitant in his mouth. "We weren't supposed to know about this one, but it was in the holos."

Finn had told her about the holos he and his fellow stormtroopers had passed from hand to hand, a shared camaraderie built on overacted dramas, random musicals, and porn, whatever they could find. Finn could sing the entire operetta of "Chloing and Deos," which he'd once demonstrated for Poe and Rey one tipsy night before the General had come in, amusement in her voice, and told them that while the performance was appreciated, he was keeping the whole base awake.

"Is that why…?" She nodded towards two of their colleagues, who had found a quiet corner together.

"Pretty sure, yeah. You can ask Poe."

"I am not asking Poe."

It was her turn in the pilot's seat while Chewie went for a quick nap. She relaxed in the chair, then felt a familiar presence next to her. Without opening her eyes, she said, "Go away."

"We almost had you," said Kylo.

"But you didn't. We escaped again. You should give up chasing us."

"You should give up running."

It was their usual banter, by now free of more than the most basic barbs. At random times, their minds would touch, and he would be here with her, just as she would be with him, wherever he was. She hoped she appeared while he was in the middle of a meeting with his senior staff, talking nonsense to the air.

"What do you want?" she asked him, finally looking at him.

"For you to bow to the superiority of the First Order."

She didn't dignify the statement with a reply. She rested here, awash in the blue of hyperspace. He'd be able to see the light playing over her, nothing else, but he didn't have to ask to know which ship she'd fled in. He looked around them, as though he could see the ship where he'd spent his childhood. She watched the emotions move under his skin while he tried to hide them away. She wanted to believe that, given the right lever, Kylo Ren would pop out of the shell he inhabited, and leave Ben Solo behind. It was the reason she kept pushing him, and pulling, and wishing he would stop being the ridiculous monster for long enough to remember the good man he could be.

A line of tension moved out of his shoulders. For one moment, he slumped in the co-pilot's chair, no different from anyone else. With a sudden gesture, he said, "Here."

In this in-between space, they could touch. They'd fought here, and in the few peaceful times, they'd done other things, pulling away after in remorse and regret. He handed her a small item, pushing it into her hand like a hot ball of metal he couldn't bear to hold.

Rey looked in her hands. She always half-expected him to realize what their connection meant, what it could be. She waited for the day he thrust a thermal detonator at her, or a tactical atomic, and waited for the blast. But he hadn't, not once, despite every time he'd raised his blade to her, and in turn, she'd never put a grenade in his hands, even knowing how easily she could end this war.

The item was wrapped in a thin cloth. She moved aside the cloth and saw a small, brown lump. A new, good smell wafted up at her. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," he said. Sudden panic washed over him, and he reached to take it back, but Rey was faster, pulling away from him.

"Is it food?"

"It's a kind of food." His jaw moved. "Try it."

It could be poisoned. But it could have been an explosive, and it wasn't and wouldn't be. Rey bit into the strange foodstuff. Sweet melted into her mouth, and beneath it, the tart flesh of a fladberry. She had only tasted those once, but her tongue remembered, and without hesitation, she popped the entire treat between her lips. As she chewed, the sweetness and bright acid mingled, along with a thicker, luscious flavor from the coating. She felt a thin trickle escape her mouth, and didn't care as she swallowed.

"Thank you," she said, after a moment. He reached for her, his thumb wiping away the small mess, his eyes full of a simple happiness.

Then he remembered who he was, and who she was, and why they had to meet this way. "Good," he said in a clipped voice, back to the Supreme Leader. But she'd seen his façade drop, if only for a moment. He vanished from the seat as though he'd never been there, and part of her knew he hadn't been, just as she had never sat in whatever chair in which he'd seen her.

Her mouth still tingled from the sweet, and from his touch. Rey crumpled the cloth in her hands. The scent of the sweet would linger, as would the scent of his touch as he'd wrapped the gift for her. She closed her eyes, holding on to hope.


End file.
